Designer Vivienne Westwood turns 68 today. Patricia Arquette is turning 41. Robin Wright Penn is 43. Legendary journalist and New Yorker contributor Sy Hersh is turning 72. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is 71. Former State Senator Joe Bruno is 80. Disgraced ex-congressman Tom DeLay is turning 62. Betty Ford is 91. Julian Lennon turns 46. The rapper Biz Markie is 45. Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki is 62. And Richard Hatch, the first winner of Survivor who is currently in prison for tax evasion, is 48 today.

Nicholas Negroponte has come to his senses and realized that he is not a businessman and has no place running the One Laptop Per Child project. "I am not a CEO. Management, administration, and details are my weaknesses. I'm much better at the vision, big-picture side of the house." Yeah, leave the minutae like making a profit and shipping products on time to someone else, and focus on things like going to conferences and schmoozing with Bono. Negroponte's ideal CEO? Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who will "view the world as a mission, not a market." Ah yes. When I think of successfully run, profitable businesses, I immediately think of the UN. Bravo. Whatever. This guy is an academic, what do you expect? Next thing you know, he'll be asking Al Gore to come on board. OLPC critic and Steve Jobs impersonator Dan Lyons has much more to say about this latest development.

Celebrity photographer Herb Ritts died yesterday in an L.A. hospital after a bout with pneumonia that resulted in fatal complications. A contributor to Vogue and Vanity Fair for over 15 years, Ritts photographed subjects ranging from Madonna to the Dalai Lama. His latest series for Vogue, including shots of Kofi Annan and track star Marion Jones, will appear in the February issue.
Herb Ritts, celebrity photographer, dies at 50 [NYT]
Ritts, R.I.P. [Page Six]